This Red Wine Onion Gravy recipe is an absolute game changer. So gorgeously rich and packed full of flavour, prepare to never use a packet of store bought gravy again!
As one of my most loved and most popular recipes, I had to include this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’!
Red Wine Onion Gravy
I always knew deep down in my soul that red wine and beef gravy would marry together perfectly, and after a little experimenting all I can say is my soul was right. Red wine gravy is totally a thing and it’s about to change your life.
Red wine lends itself so neatly to beef in so many different contexts. It’s just a match made in heaven. When adding it to a homemade beef gravy, it adds an extra depth of flavour and provides a gorgeous richness. Sure, beef gravy is great, but red wine beef gravy is better. Let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need shall we?
Red Wine Onion Gravy Ingredients
- Red Wine – You won’t need a huge amount of this. I tend to buy the mini bottles from the supermarket as I’m not a huge drinker.
- Onion – I tend to use red onion but white will work just as well. I recommend slicing into thin strips to keep a bit of texture, as opposed to finely dicing.
- Butter – To fry the onions and create a roux to thicken the gravy.
- Flour – Helps thicken the gravy by creating a roux
- Beef Stock – This makes up the bulk of the gravy so try and get a good quality stock.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Deepens the flavour.
- Red Currant Jelly – Adds a touch of sweetness to compliment the caramelized onions.
What kind of red wine to use?
I’m no wine connoisseur, so usually just go for something like a Merlot, nothing fancy. Don’t splash out on something expensive! Just make sure it’s DRY not sweet.
Making Red Wine Onion Gravy
The great thing about this gravy is you don’t need meat drippings. Many traditional gravy recipes use meat drippings in gravy, but I wanted to create a ‘go-to’ gravy recipe which you can whip up whether you’ve got meat drippings or not.
Can I make this gravy WITH meat drippings?
You sure can! If it’s steak or sausages, just use the fat to start the gravy. If you’re roasting a larger piece of meat, just skim the fat and use some of the dripping to replace the stock.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yep! Just tightly store in the fridge then reheat on the stove or in short blasts in the microwave. If you want to incorporate drippings on the day just stir some of the juices through the gravy just before serving.
Process shots: fry onions (photo 1), melt butter (photo 2), stir in flour (photo 3), add wine photo 4), stir into paste (photo 5), whisk in stock, Worcestershire sauce, jelly and seasoning (photo 6).
Serving Red Wine Onion Gravy
The gravy will thicken, just keep gently simmering until you get your desired texture (it will thicken more as it rests).
What can I serve this with?
- Sausages and Mash
- Roast Dinner
- Extra gravy for a Cottage Pie (or Shepherd’s Pie)
- Roast Beef
- Lamb
- Steak
Looking for another homemade gravy without drippings? Check out my All Purpose Homemade Gravy!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this red wine onion gravy shall we?
How to make Red Wine Onion Gravy (Full Recipe & Video)
Red Wine Onion Gravy
Equipment
- Medium Sized Pot or Pan with Wooden Spoon
- Whisk
- Jug (for stock)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for onions)
Ingredients
- 1 large Red Onion, peeled & sliced (weight of whole onion approx 7oz/200g)
- 2 cups / 500ml Good Quality Beef Stock
- 1/3 cup / 80ml Dry Red Wine (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Red Currant Jelly (see notes)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Melt 1 tbsp butter into a pan and begin frying the onions over medium heat. Once they start to take on colour, turn the heat down to low-medium and fry until soft and caramelized. The lower and slower you fry the onions, the more they'll caramelize and the sweeter they'll be. Around 30mins will get you soft and sticky onions though.
- Melt in 1 tbsp butter then stir in 2 tbsp flour until a paste forms. Stir in the wine, then slowly stir in the beef stock, whisking as you go to ensure no lumps form. Add in Worcestershire sauce and redcurrant jelly, then season to taste with salt and pepper (you may not need salt as the butter and stock will already add saltiness).
- Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until your desired thickness. It will thicken, just keep simmering away. Take into consideration that the gravy will thicken as it cools. Serve up and enjoy! (see notes for make ahead)
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
If you loved this Red Wine Onion Gravy recipe be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Let me know in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
I made this gravy for a roast beef dinner for my family a few weeks ago and it was delicious. The addition of the jam really made the gravy pop. I used red raspberry as that is what i had on hand. I want to make it again tonight. I am currently making some puff pastry and I’m thinking of making steak bites mixed in this gravy wrapped in the puff pastry like some kind of steak pockets or possibly just one large pie (yet to be decided). Maybe served with some fresh asparagus and creamy mashed potatoes or go a little lighter with swapping the potato for carrot and turnip mash or maybe carrot and parsnip fries. Bare with me as my dinner recipes is generally made up and decided as I go along. Ok so back on track to the reason I am commenting. I would have to cool the gravy before adding it to pastry so that the pastry doesn’t become soggy at the bottom. Would the gravy separate inside the pastry when reheating in the oven?
Hi Caroline! Thanks so much for the review. Great to hear the gravy went down well. I imagine the gravy should hold up pretty well in the pastry 🙂 C.
I’ve made this gravy now many times. It’s my new go-to. So easy and so delicious. I’ve veganized your recipe. Using vegan butter, vegan Worcestershire sauce and I add a tsp of brown sugar as I don’t usually have red currant jelly. Thank you for this very tasty gravy recipe.
Great to hear this can be veganized! Thanks so much for the review, Antonela 🙂 C.
Delicious with bangers and mash!
I made the recipe and as it was only for two I have frozen the rest. Hoping it wl be as good?
Great to hear this went down well, Sandra! I’ve never frozen this before but my instinct is you’ll be fine. C.
Can I use a different stock to beef?
I’d stick with beef for this, it pairs best with the red wine.
1 tbsp isn’t nearly enough flour to offset all the liquid in this recipe and thicken to a gravy consistency. Beware that all the 5 star reviews appear to be from people who haven’t actually tried the recipe, they just say it “looks good”. Taste is nice but I added a significant amount of cornstarch to thicken afterwards.
Glad to hear you worked it out with the extra cornstarch. The longer you simmer the thicker the gravy will get 🙂
Delicious and easy! I have done this one a few times, straight in the frying pan after browning my beef meatballs. That way, the burnt bits from the meat also go into the gravy for extra flavour, and the gravy helps pull the burnt bits off the pan to make washing up a lot easier 🙂
Is there anything more delicious than onion gravy on mash?!
I genuinely don’t think there is!!
mmm this recipe looks very tasty! I like that it can be cook quickly and easy. This is perfect for me. I definitely want to try this! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Thanks so much, Veena! Enjoy! 🙂
Holy moly. This sounds absolutely divine! I’ve never had a gravy flavored with red wine and onion. Yum!
It’s so good! You gotta try 🙂
Brilliant! What a girgeius color do the sauce. I normally add leftover red wine to My pasta sauces. This gravy looks rich and elegant and simple recipe too!
Thanks, Sonal! Adding leftover wine to things just makes the world a better place 😉